Changing Your Business Model?
Alert Your Customers With Meaningful Spin—or Else!
Vol. 6, Issue No. 20 | October 19, 2010 By Denny Hatch
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IN THE NEWS
France Asks Airlines to Cut Flights Ahead of StrikesPARIS - The confrontation over pension reform in France deepened Monday, with strikers strangling fuel supplies at home and waving off airline flights from abroad.
The French civil aviation authority said on Monday it was asking airlines to cut flights into French airports by up to 50 percent on Tuesday because of possible strikes by personnel. Blockades of France's 200 fuel depots and strikes at most of its 12 refineries have left service stations starved of fuel. Fearful that the pumps would run dry, many motorists scrambled on Monday to fill up while they could, contributing to the pressure on supplies particularly of the diesel fuel powering many French cars.
—Alan Cowell, The New York Times, Oct. 18, 2010
Prior to the strike mayhem (see IN THE NEWS to the right), we bought and paid for airline tickets from Paris to Philadelphia in mid-December. How long will pandemonium prevail? Will we get home on time or, like France, will we go broke being stuck in Paris with the euro on the rise?
For generations, the French have considered it to be their God-given right to retire at age 60. In order to stay afloat, the Sarkozy government has upped the retirement age to 62.
That's not all. When a woman friend in Paris lost her job, she was eligible to receive the equivalent of 57.4 percent of her salary for up to three years, courtesy of the state. She had a job offer, but opted to double-dip—take freelance work while collecting unemployment. Plus, of course, she has universal health care, as do all French.
The only solution is for the government to legislate some major changes in its business model, and the citizenry is up in arms. It's a mini-revolution.
The point is when upheaval is necessary—in business, health, education or government—it is imperative to alert in advance those who are affected and make a powerful and persuasive argument for the change.
In the case France, the message to workers is simple:
France is running out of money. If you don't go along with this change, your pension will be pennies on the euro. What's more, your grandchildren will be forced to work until they are 75 and will hate you forever.
PHL—SFO and Return
Earlier this month we flew to and from San Francisco for the annual Direct Marketing Association Conference and Exhibition on a plain-Jane US Airways Airbus 320. No movies, no sound system, no Wi-Fi or BlackBerry allowed, no in-flight hot meal service.
At the US Airways ticket counters in both cities, we were nailed for a $25 fee per checked suitcase, which meant and immediate extra C-note added to the cost of our tickets.
For five hours—each way—we were on our own, the only amenities being free coffee, juice, soft drinks and water. Not even pretzels. Everything else was payable by credit card: snacks, simple meals and alcoholic beverages.
Other new add-on fees instituted by the airlines that are roiling travelers big time: bookings by phone, preferred seats, priority boarding and changing tickets.
Takeaways to Consider
- Before summarily changing your business model, alert your customers with meaningful and persuasive spin—or else.
- "Always try to convert a disadvantage into an advantage." —Elsworth Howell
- "Always try to convert a marketing disaster into a marketing opportunity." —Lester Wunderman
- "You've got to start thinking of air travel like taking a bus, subway or Amtrak. You have paid for a seat, and are guaranteed by the carrier to get from point A to point B. All else is extra." —Kathleen Stephenson
- When flying, always bring enough to read, see or listen to. And then some.
- NOTE: The new $139 Kindle that holds 3,400 titles slips into your pocket and the battery lasts a month, so you're good to go—anywhere.
- "When you're flying, sit by the window and always have a pair of binoculars with you." —Jean Shepherd, radio raconteur, screenwriter, hoaxer, screenwriter and narrator of "The Christmas Story" and author of "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash"
- It is a gift to have 10 hours of solitude to veg out, read, think, do a crossword and doze, sans BlackBerry and Wi-Fi, with no cabin crew performing intrusive food service tasks and blocking the way to the toilets with their aisle-wide carts, while passengers watching the Clint Eastwood movie give you dirty looks for leaving the window shade up and letting the sun shine in.
- "Public relations is the business of letting people in on what you are doing." —Evelyn Lawson, former Ziegfeld Follies dancer and publicist for the Ivoryton (CT) Playhouse
- It's a shame that the airlines (or any corporation) feel it necessary to save money by hiring piss-poor amateurs to manage their public relations.
Companies Mentioned:
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